


Things that never happen

by Qwerty1



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: AU, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Telephatic Bond, Ten is adorable, basically ten becomes a cat, but then again when isn't he?, just trust me, much angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-04 20:53:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14601483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qwerty1/pseuds/Qwerty1
Summary: Living in a space ship and being married to an alien, Rose has learned to be prepared for anything to happen. Her husband dying and getting reborn in the body of a house cat belongs in the category of things that never happen.





	1. Chapter 1

“I’m regenerating.”  
The horror in the Doctor’s voice breaks Rose’s heart. She’s kneeling next to him on the grating floor of the TARDIS console room, the Timelord’s body shaking violently. Shaking her head, she sniffs. She feels his pain through their bond, and she desperately wishes she didn’t know how much he’s hurting.  
“You can’t...”  
“The poison is already beginning to shut down my regenerations, if I don’t do it now I won’t be able to. Get back!”  
Rose simply shakes her head again. He lifts his hands to his face, watching the gold glow.  
“Get back, Rose!” he yells, doing his best to push her away.  
“I love you”, she whispers, getting up and hurrying over to take cover behind one of the coral pillars.   
“Love you too”, he replies weakly, their eyes meeting for a split second before the gold light envelops his entire body and explodes outwards.

Rose turns away, pressing her body against the pillar with her heart pounding. At least this time she knows what she has to expect. Under her closed eyelids she sees the shift back to compact darkness, indicating that the regeneration energy has passed. Taking a deep breath, as if bracing herself, she steps out from behind the pillar. 

“Doctor?” she asks, voice small and unsure.  
But the Doctor isn’t there anymore, not in any form or body. The only thing left from his existence is his clothes in a messy pile. There’s some movement under the clothes, and a cat peeks its head up from under the Doctor’s coat. A large, tortoiseshell speckled cat staring at her with intense, yellow eyes. But Rose, after everything she’s seen, knows there’s a vast possibility the seemingly harmless feline is in fact a vicious alien.

“What have you done to the Doctor!?” she demands, stepping forward.  
The cat stumbles away from the clothes, seeming disorientated and slightly out of balance. Rose watches as it makes its way over to her, the tail swinging behind it comically. Like the fifth body part just grew out and the “cat” doesn’t know what to do with it. Totally an evil shape shifter.

“What have you done to him!?” she yells, louder this time.  
The cat flinches, nearly tripping over its own tail. Then it shierks, in a voice suspiciously similar to the Doctor’s:  
“Rose? What’s going on!?”  
In fact, the cat’s voice is identical to the Doctor’s. Rose slaps her hand over her mouth, to hold in the sob that suddenly is trying to press itself out of her. This cat-Doctor is staring down at his black and brown speckled paws, scraping them across the grating in distress. 

“Why do I have paws!? And a tail!?” he yells to no one in particular.   
His breaths are short and quick, dangerously close to hyperventilation. Rose inhales sharply, moving her palm from her mouth.  
“Doctor?” she whispers, her voice barely audible.  
The Doctor spins around to face her, one of his paws getting stuck in the grating in the process. He curses in Gallifreyian as he pulls it free, and the scene would’ve been comical in any other context.

“Rose”, he says slowly, almost carefully.  
“You’re a-”, she begins, voice shaking.  
“-Cat, yes”, he finishes for her, being more careful about where he puts his paws this time as he approaches her further.   
His presence in her mind is now withdrawn, like he doesn’t want to bother her. He looks up at her, tail swishing anxiously behind him as he waits for her to say something. She swallows, trying to clear her mind.

“How…? How long will this last?” Rose asks, not sure if she wants to hear the answer.  
“Last? Rose, this is a regeneration! It’s permanent!”   
“What, you’re just gonna live life as a house cat now?”  
“I suppose so!” he spits back, the coldness in his voice making Rose freeze.  
“W-what am I gonna do now?” she asks him, fighting to keep the tears back.  
“What do you think I’m gonna do, Rose!? What do you think I’m gonna do now!? I’m a cat, Rose! A bloody feline! And I should be thankful I’m alive and that that poison didn’t kill me, but let me tell you something: it is incredibly hard to be grateful for anything when you’ve been tossed into a foreign body and your own wife doesn’t want you anymore!”

And then he storms off into the corridor, his harsh words echoing in Rose’s head as she silently stares after him. How can he possibly think she doesn’t want him anymore!? They might not have had an official marriage ceremony on any planet, but their bond means just as much to them, if not more. It’s only a few months ago now that Rose made the decision to join their minds, stretching her life span in the process to match his. She doesn’t have the ability to regenerate, but her aging has been slowed down significantly. She knew what she was getting into, he kept warning her about how she would have to watch everyone around her die while she lived on, but she always told him it wouldn’t matter cause they would be together.

And now she’s been sentenced to spending several centuries mentally chained to a cat!

Still, it could always be worse. He’s still got his intelligence and the ability to speak, and personality wise he still seems to be the brown haired Doctor she promised to spend her prolonged life with. 

 

The Doctor wanders through the TARDIS corridors, trying to figure out what to do with himself. Normally he would do some TARDIS repairs or occupy himself with some new fancy gadgets when his mind is in the need of a serious clearing, but he doesn't think he’ll be doing much work of any sort with these paws. So he’s left alone with his thoughts. He stops his walking, looking down at said paws. They are, like the rest of him, mostly black with hints of brown and gold swirls. If he had encountered his cat self in a street somewhere he might even have thought of himself as beautiful, despite not even liking cats. And now he’s stuck as one! Just brilliant! If his regeneration was going to fail more epically than any regeneration in the history of regenerations, he could’ve at least turned into something more useful! Like a monkey with opposite thumbs, or something that can fly. What an irony, him turning into an ape… He snorts, somewhat amused by the thought.

His aimless wanderings ends up taking him to the wardrobe room, most likely cause the TARDIS wants him to be there at the moment. He’s not in the right mind to question the ship about anything, so he calmly enters the room to see what she’s got waiting for him. He should’ve seen it coming: a large full length mirror greets him, leaning against the wall. He walks over to it, staring at the creature at the other side of the glass. The cat blinks back at him, mirroring him exactly when he lifts one front paw and puts the pad against the glass. 

“A mirror? Really?” he asks the ship, the TARDIS responding by giving him an mental image of Rose.  
His tiny hearts flutters at the reminder of his beloved wife. He should be able to feel her emotions and thoughts through their bond, but since he’s withdrawn from her mind her side is blurred from him as well. He doesn’t dare to let her back into his mind, doesn’t dare to subject himself to whatever she must be thinking right now.

He leaves the wardrobe, once again lacking a specific destination. Suddenly, a scent hits his new, sensitive nose. A very lovely scent. He sticks his nose up into the air, inhaling deeply through it. Is that-? Yes, it is: banana, banana and chocolate. Nutella, specifically. His breaks into a run as he follows it, ending up outside the kitchen. Peering in, he soon discovers the source of the scent responsible for his sudden craving: a dish on the floor containing a mushed mixture of banana and nutella. 

Suddenly suspicious, he cautiously approaches the treat. It seems like the exact thing someone would lay out in order to lure him in to be captured. But, then again, there’s only two passengers currently on the TARDIS. And the second one is one of the few people aware of his soft spot for the specific combination of banana and nutella. Confirming his theory, the TARDIS once again sends him a mental image of his wife. Despite his chaotic state of mind, the Doctor’s hearts swell at the knowledge that Rose, despite obviously being very upset herself, is trying to make him feel better. Even if it might be by using food and not her own physical presence.

Giving the banana a quick lick and being relieved that his taste buds still works the same, he cleans the dish completely. The image of Rose is still stuck in the back of his mind, like a reminder. The TARDIS is right: he at least owes her an explanation. 

“Where is she?” he asks the ship, following the illuminated path through the corridor the moment it appears on the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take a break from all the angst with some fluff :D

The sound of tiny footsteps reaches Rose’s ears. She looks up from her book, closing it and laying it aside as she sees the Doctor. He trots over to the couch, jumping up to sit next to her.  
“Thanks for the banana”, he tells her.  
She nods, still not knowing what to say.  
“Sorry I yelled at you”, he continues.  
She nods.  
“Rose-”  
“Why won’t you let me into your mind?”

The cat’s ears are tilted backwards, and Rose has enough knowledge of this specific species to know it’s a sign of distress, anxiety or anger. He stays silent, though.   
“Doctor, I love you. God, help me, but I love you!”  
He stands up on all fours, moving closer and putting his front paws on her knee.   
“I love you more, I promise. But, I can’t-”  
“Don’t say that...”  
“Quiet, let me finish! As you’ve noticed, this latest regeneration went a bit wrong-”  
“You don’t say...”  
“-and in my current body I’m afraid I won’t be able to, you know… Provide what you want...”  
But Rose just shakes her head.  
“Do you really think I care so little about you that a sudden species change makes any difference?” she asks, her voice calm despite the emotions raging inside her.

At those words the Doctor launches himself into her lap and open arms, letting his side of the bond flood back into her mind where it belongs. As Rose takes part of his anxiety and insecurities and fear something inside her bursts and the tears comes falling down. She knows how much trust he requires in someone to show them this side of himself. The Doctor immediately reaches up to lick them away, his small tongue like sandpaper against her skin. It’s not uncomfortable, but it tickles. Still, she doesn’t want him to stop. She runs her fingers through his fur, as soft as his great hair, holding him close. After he’s gotten rid of the tears, the Doctor nuzzles his wet nose against her neck and starts purring softly. The noise has a soothing effect on Rose, and she finds her eyelids getting heavy. She supposes the last few hours’ emotional rollercoaster has taken its toll on her fatigue. 

 

Rose comes back to wakefulness slowly, something tickling her face. Her eyelids flutter, and she shifts in the couch seat as she flutters them open. She can’t really place what she’s seeing at first: something soft and black, with swirls and speckles of brown and gold. It’s pretty, reminds her of a starry sky. Is it a new blanket? No, it’s the Doctor’s fur. She hasn’t seen it this close up, and now she studies the patterns within it with fascination. He rubs his nose against her neck affectionately, and she giggles before turning serious. 

“So, are you gonna explain what happened to turn you into a cat?” she wonders.   
He sits back so he can see her face, nodding.  
“Yes, of course. Remember how I said the poison was engineered especially to kill Timelords, and how it takes effect by draining my regeneration energy?”  
She nods, a pang of sadness hitting her at his description of something this horrible. He, of course, senses these emotions through their bond.

“It’s okay love, I’m here”, he reassures her, stroking his paw pad across her cheek.  
She nods, giving him a smile.  
“I know, and I’m so happy you’re alive.”  
“Me too. Anyways.. When I did manage to regenerate the energy was already very damaged and weakened. Mentally I’m still myself, but physically I’m, well...”  
“...a cat”, Rose finishes helpfully.  
“Exactly!”

Rose giggles, lifting a hand to scratch him behind his ear. He seems reluctant to give in to the pleasure of the affectionate gesture at first, but he ends up purring as he leans into her hand.  
“Aren’t you a beautiful kitty?” she coos in a soft but teasing tone.  
“Shut up”, he groans, nibbling playfully at her fingers.  
“Sorry”, she says, pulling her hand back.

The Doctor jumps down from the couch, stretching his back and legs. He looks around the library. Everything seems so large, so tall. Not so suprising, though. He’s much smaller than what he’s used to. And now he’s just gonna have to get used to it.

Rose watches the speckled cat move around the library floor, like he’s exploring everything for the first time again. She smiles, thinking about how beautiful he actually is as a cat. The Doctor receives that thought over the bond, and in return he sends her a wave of love. 

He soon returns to her, getting up onto the couch and laying down with his head and front paws on her knee.  
“Still a cuddler, I see”, Rose observes fondly as she strokes him across the back.  
“This helps, having you close”, he explains, and she just nods.  
It must be very confusing suddenly finding yourself in the body of an animal, and she’s more than happy that she’s able to make him feel better.

 

Since time is relative in the TARDIS, Rose has no idea how much of it actually passes. They spend the most of this relative time cuddled close, either on the couch or the bed. The Doctor is indeed still a cuddler, and maybe even more so now. Rose wonders if the cat part of him isn’t entirely limited to his appearance, like he claims. He does purr, after all.

Rose follows the Doctor into the kitchen, the cat jumping up to sit on a wooden stool by the kitchen counter. He swishes the tip of his tail expectantly as she brings out the ingredients for pancakes and gets to work on the recipe she has memorised. She starts to hum a soft melody as she pours the batter into the pan, a burst of love and fondness coming from the Doctor’s side of the bond at this. She glances towards him as the batter fries, beaming.   
“You want the banana jam, right?”  
“You didn’t even have to ask, love”, he tells her, and she reaches over to one of the cupboards to retrieve their usual condiments. 

She puts his plate on the table first, complete with a large blob of banana jam beside the pancakes. He makes a happy noise, jumping over to the table. She watches as he uses his paw to spread the jam across the pancakes before licking the access from the pad. She smiles at this. He truly still is himself. On the inside, at least.

She sits down by the table herself, her own plate of pancakes in one hand and a bottle of chocolate syrup in the other. The Doctor has made it very clear he doesn’t want any sort of special treatment or anything just because he isn’t a humanoid anymore, and that it would be best for him if the two of them just goes on with life as usual. And for a moment there the two of them are just a telepathically bonded couple eating pancakes, not a telepathically bonded couple of which one person has suddenly and unexpectedly turned into a cat. 

“It’s a bit like phantom limbs”, the Doctor tries to explain, his voice a bit muffled since his mouth is full of pancake.  
“What do you mean?”  
“Just… There are times when I can swear I still have hands and fingers, but then I go to grab something and I realize I’m stuck with these useless things”, he says, his frustration evident from his side of the bond as he slams one paw down onto the table in what can only be described as disgust.   
Rose is quick to send him a wave of love and comfort and calm, not being able to stand seeing her husband upset.

“Actually, I think you’ve been handling this far better than I was ever expecting”, Rose tells him softly.  
“Well, every regeneration is the same at its core: a change, which you just have to learn to adapt to and live with.”  
She nods, taking a bite of chocolate syrup drenched pancake from her fork and chewing it.   
“I guess there was a chance of me at least turning out ginger, but apparently even coincidence has its favorites”, he mutters, causing her to giggle softly.  
“For what it’s worth, I think you’re gorgeous! Reminds me of the night sky, constellations and stuff.”  
“You’re obligated to say that, you’re my wife.”  
“Yup!”

They burst out laughing, the Doctor crossing the table over to Rose’s side and rubbing his cheek against hers as he purrs. She scratches him behind the ear, just like she’s learned he really likes it.  
“We’re always gonna be okay, you and me”, she promises him.  
“Everything is better with you, my love.”


	3. Chapter 3

The Doctor dives head first into one of the bigger-on-the-inside pockets of his coat, grabbing his sonic between his teeth and pulling it out. He drops it onto the grating floor, poking it with a paw so it rolls over until the button side is up. Next he moves so he’s standing above the (to him) large metal tube, pressing his paw down onto the button. The sonic buzzes to life, the tip glowing blue for a short moment before he takes his paw off the button. Once he’s satisfied with that he starts walking around it in circles, looking at it from all angles. It’s not like he’s got a pocket to keep it in now. Hell, he hasn’t even got any clothes on! He should probably make a trip to the wardrobe later, to pick up something small to wear. Might restore some of his sense of being himself. 

“There you are!” a cheerful voice calls behind him.  
Rose. The blonde is standing just at the opening into the corridor, watching him curiously.   
“I needed to check I could still operate my sonic properly, which I can. Though, I don’t have anywhere to put it...”  
“You can always have the TARDIS make you a mini suit? Oh, that would be adorable!”  
He thinks about it briefly before giving her a look, his disapproval shining through their bond.  
“Alright, maybe not...”

“Actually...”, the Doctor begins before grabbing the sonic in his mouth.  
Carrying the sonic he walks over to Rose, pawing at her leg and offering the metal tube to her with an upwards tilt of his head. Understanding, she takes it from his mouth.  
“...I was thinking you could be responsible of the sonic from now on”, he finishes, sitting down and looking up at her.

Rose studies the tube shaped tool in her hand. She has, of course, thought about getting a sonic for herself, but there hasn’t really been a need for that since the two of them are together at all times. This is different. This is the Doctor offering her the sonic cause he’s not able to carry it with him anymore. Her gaze moves from the sonic to the cat sitting by her feet and back to the sonic.

“Thank you, darling”, she says, and he rises to his feet.  
No, wait. Paws.  
“We need it with us for explorations, you know”, he explains, and Rose’s face falls.  
“Explorations where?” she asks carefully.  
“Well, not in the vortex I hope”, he says with a laugh as he starts making his way towards the console.

Rose panics.  
“Doctor, wait!” she calls.  
He does as requested, turning around to meet her eyes.  
“What’s wrong?” he asks, his concern clear both from his voice and his side of the bond.  
Rose inhales sharply.  
“I just… I don’t think we should leave the vortex yet...”  
“What!? C’mon Rose, there are entire worlds out there waiting for us!” he exclaims, doing a little fox jump into the air with excitement.   
Rose smiles at his cuteness, before getting serious again. 

“I know, it’s just… In your current state...”  
The burst of excitement from the Doctor’s side of the bond is replaced with cold, hard anger.  
“You don’t think I can handle it!? I’m not an invalid, Rose!”  
“That’s not what I said!”  
“Oh, is it not? I think that’s exactly what you said!”  
“What is wrong with you!? Can’t you see I’m just trying to help and protect you!?”

The anger in the bond flickers, and Rose can sense fear and sadness leaking through.  
“If I don’t get out there now, I’m scared I never will. I’m scared I’ll get stuck here in the vortex and my bubble of self pitying”, he confesses quietly, and Rose’s heart breaks.   
“You won’t, I’ll help you”, she promises.   
His only response is to whimper sadly and drag his front paw across the grating.  
“You know what I think?” Rose asks slowly.  
“What?”  
“I think you need a cuddle”, she says.

And then she’s reaching down, grabbing him from under his belly and lifting him towards her. His first reaction is to let out a short but hostile hiss, but it must be an automatic reaction cause next he relaxes and goes limp as she brings him to her chest and holds him close. He nuzzles his nose into her shirt, and it’s not long before he starts purring happily.

“I love you, my Doctor. Always.”  
“Even though I’m a cat?” he mumbles against the fabric of her shirt.  
“Of course! I already told you, that doesn’t make any difference in how I feel about you!”  
“Love you too, my Rose”, he whispers, leaning up to lick and nuzzle against her cheek affectionately.   
Their bond is glowing with strong love and affection from both ends. 

“You really don’t wanna go anywhere with me?” the Doctor asks in a small, hurt voice.  
Rose sighs.  
“It’s not that I don’t want to. I very much want to. But I also want you safe”, she tries to explain.   
“I can take care of myself, darling. You don’t have to worry about me.”  
“I have some experiences that proves otherwise”, she says, a small giggle slipping into her voice at the end.  
“Oi!”  
“I’m just saying...”, she giggles.

Twisting around in her arms, the Doctor turns so he’s facing her. And pokes her nose with his paw. Rose howls with laughter. Next he gives her nose a little lick, and she giggles at this.  
“Should I, for some reason, not be able to take care of myself, I’ve always got Rose Tyler to look after me”, he tells her.   
“Damn right you do!” she agrees.

She’s still holding the sonic, she notices, so she puts the tool in one of her jeans pockets for safe keeping. Not bigger on the inside, but it’ll do for now.

 

“We could visit my mum.”

The Doctor makes a noise that can only be described as horrified, turning around to face his wife.  
“We… What?” he gasps.   
“C’mon now, you can’t honestly tell me she’s that bad!”  
“No, but… Rose, we could go anywhere! Anywhere you want! And you wanna visit your mum?”  
This time, Rose can’t hold back the giggle.

“Like I said, she’s not that bad. And also, if we’re gonna leave the vortex we’re at least gonna start somewhere safe. I mean, the most danger we could face is cupcakes becoming sentient and deciding they’re gonna take over Earth.”  
“That’s ridiculous!” her husband exclaims, huffing out a laugh.   
“Exactly!”

Jumping down from the couch, the Doctor turns to face her.   
“You’re not gonna change your mind, are you?” he asks.  
“Nope!”   
He sighs.  
“And what if I just went against your decision?”  
“How dare you, I’m your wife!? And also, you’ll never get up to the console without my help”, Rose tells him, a playful yet smug smile on her face.  
“You’re mean.”  
“No, I’m protective.”  
“Same thing, then.”  
“Whatever.”


	4. Chapter 4

After three Earth days and five Earth hours spent strictly in the vortex, the Doctor finally gives up and agrees on his wife’s conditions to visit Jackie Tyler. He’s kept himself occupied by doing an (unsuccessful) search for rooms he hasn’t seen before, and then by trying to figure out how to adapt the existing rooms to this new body. He’s passed some wonderful time by simply cuddling his wife, and as lovely as it is spending time with her he can’t deny the obvious in the end: he’s bored. Restless. Understimulated. Especially since his usual past time activities (TARDIS repairs and sex) are currently unavailable. 

Sex. He won’t ever have sex with his wife again! Not in this body, at least...

Rose lifts him up from the floor, briefly holding him close before setting him down on the console panel surface. They work together with the driving, as usual this last months of being telepathically married: Rose moving around the console and the Doctor being restricted to flick switches and press buttons with his paws in this form. He does so very gracefully, though, moving across the metal surface of the console. It feels good, doing something that has become so very natural to him. Even if this particular body doesn’t allow him to the it at all like he’s used to.

The landing goes smooth, especially considering Rose’s past experiences. Pulling the handbrake so the time machine comes to a halt at the desired location, she pushes a lock of hair behind her ear.

“I’ve told you so many times, not the living room!” she hears her mum shout from the other side of those doors.  
She smiles.  
“You ready?” she asks the Doctor, who’s now sitting down at the center of the console with the tip of his tail twitching behind him.  
“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” he questions back, a bit of humor slipping into his voice. 

She just smiles in response, scooping him up into her arms and setting him back down on the grating floor. He immediately trots over to the doors, looking up at the handle. When he realizes he’s not gonna open it by himself he just scratches it with his paw, causing Rose to giggle at his adorableness before walking over and opening the door.

Stepping out of the time machine, Rose is met by her mum’s open arms. Being married to a time traveler she isn’t home very much anymore, and she rarely realizes how much she’s missed her until she sees her. Their embrace lasts for several minutes, until Rose pulls back as she feels the Doctor’s body against her leg and is reminded of his existence.

“Well, where is he? Don’t tell me, did he get himself arrested on some moon?” Jackie asks, causing Rose to glanze down at the alien currently sitting silently beside her on the floor.  
“It was once, and it wasn’t even a moon!” he protests, and Jackie notices his presence for the first time.  
She doesn’t say anything at first, there’s just a slightly startled noise coming from her as she stares wide eyed at the speckled cat at her daughter’s side, like she’s processing what she’s seeing and putting the pieces together in her mind.

“Bloody hell, Doctor, when did you decide to turn yourself into a cat?”  
“It wasn’t intentional”, Rose rushes out in the defense of her husband, the Doctor rising to his paws.  
“I’m not judging, as long as you take care of my daughter.”  
“I can promise you, I do”, the Doctor promises his mother-in-law, the sincerity in his voice causing Rose to send a burst of love to him through the bond.  
“Cat or not, you’re staying for dinner”, she decides, the Doctor turning his head to send Rose a pleading look.  
His wife only smiles in return.

 

The Doctor has always been happily suprised by Jackie Tyler’s level of acceptance for the fact that her daughter is dating an alien. It’s now different now, as he watches his wife and her mum slipping naturally into a conversation as the they set the table together. The conversation revolves, like the last year or so, around their latest travels. It doesn’t take many minutes until the failed regeneration is brought up, and with that the poison.

“Oh my god, someone tried to kill you!?” Jackie exclaims, spinning around to face the Doctor.   
“Well, yes. But that happens every now and then. Being the last Timelord and all that...”  
“Doctor”, Rose whispers in a warning, but he has already said enough to make the older Tyler’s eyes widen in shock.

“Mum, it’s really nothing. You knew it was like this...”, Rose sighs.  
“Didn’t you hear him, Rose!? He almost died! Died! No regeneration! He would’ve been gone! And what about you, hm? What will you do then? If he dies and leaves you on some planet somewhere, what will happen to you?”

Not knowing what to say to that, Rose just crosses her arms over her chest. The Doctor offers her calm and comfort through the bond, something that helps her calm down and collect her thoughts enough to make them into words.  
“Mum, it’s fine! He’s fine, and I’m fine! And you should not worry!”  
“That’s not gonna stop me”, Jackie, mutters, ending the conversation and returning to setting the table without another word.   
The Doctor seems to wanna add something to the conversation, but he keeps quiet. 

They finish setting the table, and it’s time to eat. The Doctor jumps up to sit on the table, causing Jackie to gasp.  
“No, what are you doing? You’re dirty! Off, off!” she exclaims, hurring over to the table and waving her hands at him like she’s trying to scare off an actual, biological cat.   
The Doctor jumps back from her hands, letting out a distressed shierk. Rose, sensing her husband’s distress through the bond, hurries over to the table as well.

“Leave him alone”, she scolds her mum, scooping the Doctor up into her arms and holding him to her chest protectively.  
He nuzzles his nose into her shirt, pawing at the fabric in a silent expression of gratitude.   
“I’m sorry, but he can’t sit on the table!”  
“Then where’s he gonna sit? He can’t sit on a chair, can he?” Rose questions, the Doctor pressing his paw into her stomach as a reaction to the anger he feels at being talked right over the head.  
“I’m right here, you know”, he informs Jackie with a groan.  
“Sorry, sweetheart.”

The Doctor ends up spending the dinner on Rose’s lap, partly to solve the situation of Jackie absolutely not wanting his paws on the table surface and partly so his wife can offer him closeness of cuddles as a comfort. He’s currently projecting his embarrassment and general unhappiness through the bond, and she does her best to drown out those negative emotions with mental declarations of love. It works for the most part, the two of them wrapped up in their own little bubble with the Doctor eating right out of Rose’s hand and at one point licking her fingers clean. 

“You’re still disgustingly cute, the pair of you”, Jackie informs them, Rose hiding her blush by bowing her head to beam fondly at the Doctor. 

 

The two of them withdraws into the serenity of Rose’s old bedroom, Rose more or less collapsing down into the bed and the Doctor curling up on her stomach.  
“That sucked”, the cat mutters, Rose sighing and scratching him behind the ear.   
“You have to give her some cred for trying, love”, she suggests sweetly.  
“Trying!? She humiliated me! Implied I was dirty!”  
“Well, your paws-”  
“Rose!” he exclaims, rising up to his paws and stomping against her stomach in anger.  
She sighs.  
“Look, Doctor… I don’t wanna fight with you, not ever.”

The Doctor doesn’t reply, instead choosing to jump down to the floor and pacing back and forth. Rose rolls over so she’s on her side, watching his movements silently. She can sense his frustration and anger through the bond, and wants nothing but to replace those feelings with feelings of happiness and comfort. 

“Doctor...”, she tries as soft as possible.  
He turns to face her with a huff.  
“I didn’t ask for this, Rose! I didn’t ask to be turned into a blood feline! I didn’t ask for any of it! I just wanted to live, Rose! That’s all I wanted!” he yells, louder than he originally intended.

And then he storms out of the room, hot anger blazing from his side of the bond and Rose blinking back tears.


	5. Chapter 5

The Doctor comes to a sudden halt at a corner, his claws digging into the floor in an attempt to slow himself down before it’s too late. But it’s already too late: he collides with Jackie’s leg, causing both of them to let out startled cries.

“Oh my god, Doctor! Are you okay? Is Rose okay? I heard shouting!” Jackie cries, the Doctor moving back and looking up at her face.  
“Yeah, well, I was the one who did the shouting part. Nothing I’m proud of. Far from, actually”, he admits.  
“So, you had a fight?”  
“Yes, we did”, he says quietly, bowing his head in shame.   
Jackie sighs, pulling out one of the kitchen chairs from underneath the table and sitting down.

“Doctor, my daughter loves you, and apparently you make her very happy. I don’t think I’ll ever quite understand it, but she does, and my Rose always deserves nothing but the best”, she says.  
“I couldn’t agree more, Jackie. And I swear to you, I’ll do everything in my power to give her the best.”  
Jackie hums and gives a small nod, like she’s thinking very hard about something.

“What?” he asks, walking over to sit facing her on the floor.  
There’s no reply. He gasps, suddenly.  
“You don’t think I can! You don’t think I’m good enough for her anymore, do you?” he questions her, speaking slowly yet demanding.  
Once again, Jackie sighs.  
“Like I said, she deserves the best. And the best for her is you. Despite you being, a...”  
She trails off.  
“A cat, yes. Trust me, I don’t understand it either. I mean, if I was married to me I would've left me after this thing happened”, he says, and Jackie gives an amused smile.

The conversation dies out after that, and is replaced by a borderline uncomfortable silence. The Doctor looks down, studying the patterns on his paws and legs like so many times before. He’s starting to see what Rose meant about his fur reminding her of stars and constellations.

“What’s it like being a cat?”’  
The Doctor looks up at the very odd question, the look on Jackie’s face revealing that it wasn’t a joke and she’s actually expecting a serious reply.   
“Are you looking for a scientific analysis of my experiences?” he snorts, and she shakes her head.   
“I’m really asking, Doctor.”  
“Out of what? Curiosity!?” he snaps  
“Why do you have to be so mean when all I do is try to understand?”

The Doctor backs away at that question, like the words physically burned him. He doesn’t know the answer to that. He doesn’t know. He already yelled at his wife, and now he almost yelled at his mother-in-law. What’s wrong with him!? The regeneration certainly couldn’t have affected his personality negatively, could it? He keeps getting angry at people trying to help him. 

Rose must’ve felt his burst of self discriminating thoughts through the bond, cause now he can hear her footsteps. He can also feel her clearly through the bond, trying to make him feel better. And for the first time since he was turned into a cat, the Doctor feels like crying.

“Doctor?”   
Rose’s voice is gentle and filled with concern, a concern he can also sense through the bond. The Doctor hesitates before spinning around to face her. She doesn’t seem angry, mostly worried. Why she isn’t angry at him is something the Doctor feels he’ll never understand. As Rose slowly approaches him she transmits love and calmness through the bond, everything she can to turn his negative thoughts into positive ones. And it does work, for a short while. Before he once again remembers screaming at her.

“Doctor, are you alright?” his wife asks him, and that finally does it: the tears come pouring down his furry cheeks, first slowly and then all at once, like a waterfall.   
He didn’t even know cats had tear channels! He guesses he’ll learn all sorts of things about this specific species, being one and all that.

“Doctor?” Rose asks again, and he swallows hard before speaking.  
“I don’t know...”, he whispers.  
Crossing the distance between them in a few long steps, Rose lifts the cat up into her arms and holds him close. He tries to hold back his cries at first, but ends up giving that up and letting his emotions get the best of him as he cries. It’s nice crying, somehow. Relieving.

Rose carries him back into her bedroom, kicking the door shut behind them and sitting down on the side of the bed. The Doctor cuddles into her chest, now purring softly despite his distress. Rose smiles as she watches him. He’s really cute, actually. Though he’d never like it if she told him.

As the minutes goes by, the Doctor is slowly starting to calm down again. Rose has started to caress him across the back, something that really seems to have a soothing effect.

“I don’t know what to do with myself, Rose! I keep getting angry, and I’m tired! I’m so unbelievably tired of this entire thing! I might as well just go somewhere where I’ll regenerate so I won’t have to deal with this bloody useless body anymore!” he exclaims, but immediately regrets his words when he can feel fear and panic from his wife’s side of the bond.  
“No, Doctor. I can’t let you do that! I can’t lose you, not like that!”  
“What do you mean, Rose? Why would that even matter!? Wouldn’t you rather have me as a humanoid than as a cat?”  
“No, I would not!” Rose screams.

The Doctor freezes.  
“Why not?” he asks finally, after a minute’s tense silence.  
“Because I love you!” Rose exclaims, not able to keep calm and quiet anymore.

The Doctor stares at her for a short while before sighing, leaning up to start licking at her cheek.  
“I love you too”, he murmurs softly, and Rose smiles sadly.  
“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all”, she says slowly, and their telepathic bond makes any attempt from the Doctor to hide his agreement useless.

“Maybe we should get away”, Rose says after a while, and the Doctor perks up in confusion.  
“Where?” he asks.  
“I don’t know. Just… Somewhere nice. Somewhere we can relax. Somewhere without trouble.”  
The Doctor huffs out a laugh.  
“You know I’m a trouble magnet, love. You’ve said so yourself”, he tells her, and Rose nods with a giggle.


	6. Chapter 6

They leave Earth again only a few hours later, after Rose has done a quick explanation of the situation to her mum and Jackie has offered the Doctor several apologies, to which the cat replied with a hum and a quiet “thanks”. They haven’t got a proper destination in mind yet, so Rose just sends them back into the vortex with the Doctor sits watching her from the jump seat. The Timelord’s remaining discomfort is eased away at the beautiful sight of his wife dancing around the console as she pilots his (their) time ship, pressing buttons and flicking switches like this is all she’s ever been doing in her life. He remembers when he taught her to fly her, a memory he’s very fond of. The way Rose’s face glowed with pride when she had successfully landed the TARDIS all by herself, and how he lifted her feet from the floor in a tight embrace and spun her around while announcing just how proud he was of her. 

“There we go!” Rose announces happily, flicking the last switch before walking over to him.  
He rises to his paws on the jump seat, stretching his legs and moving forward so he can nuzzle his face against her leg. Rose smiles at that.

 

They end up going to Clion 3-5-9, where they spent their “honeymoon” (within quotation marks, cause they aren’t properly married on any planet). It was more like a special vacation after the telepathic bonding, a vacation they simply labeled as a honeymoon. Clion 3-5-9 is famous for its hotels, luxurious and large and nothing but the best for their guests. Rose makes sure to grab the psychic paper from the Doctor’s coat pocket before the two exits the TARDIS, and one flash of the paper to the receptionist gives the two a three week long stay in one of the largest suites, with a balcony overlooking the green mountains and the golden water. 

This suite isn’t very unlike the one they stayed in during their “honeymoon”, though this time the floor and bed aren’t covered in rose petals. The suite is a large, open space with large windows and a lot of cozy sitting areas. There’s an open fireplace beside the TV and the kitchen counter is already filled with delicious-looking finger food.

“It’s gorgeous”, Rose whispers as she takes it all in, setting the bag of their limited luggage on the floor as she takes it all in.  
The Doctor climbs down from her shoulders, where he was comfortably perched during their check in and elevator ride. He’s really starting to get used to these paws, and he has to admit he likes his new excellent sense of balance. Not that his balance wasn’t excellent before. Of course not. 

“It is lovely”, he agrees softly, walking over to one of the large windows and putting his paw against the glass as he admires the view.   
Rose decides to join him, walking over and crouching down to his level right behind him. He starts purring softly, moving back to lean against her leg.  
“This was a wonderful idea, love”, he tells her, her side of the bond glowing with happiness at those words.  
“Thank you, darling. It’s just you and me, now. Doing whatever we want”, she promises him sweetly.

 

They dig into the finger foods, Rose moving the trays from the counter to the sitting area of pillows and blankets on the floor. The Doctor climbs up to sit on a fluffy, blue pillow, leaning down to nibble at the fruit pieces Rose lays out in front of him. The blonde chooses a pillow for herself across from him, sitting down cross legged and starts munching on the fruit, ham and cheese pieces from her small plate. They eat in silence for a while, just enjoying each other’s company and the love flaring through their bond. Rose is happy to discover some alien fruit that wasn’t there last time, and she can’t get enough of its wonderful taste!

“That’s the traqayeesh fruit, quite the delikatesy here”, the Doctor tells her, and she nods as she chews.   
“It’s really nice!”  
“It sure is! Hey, can I have some?”  
“Of course”, Rose tells him, picking up the purple-ish fruit from her plate.  
She’s just about to lay the fruit by the Doctor’s front paws when he stands up a little on his back legs, just enough to take the food right out of her hand. When he’s chewed and swallowed it he continues to lick her fingers eagerly, even when there’s no juice left on her skin. The sandpaper texture of his tiny tongue tickles against Rose’s finger, but in a very pleasant way. She giggles, which only prompts him to keep going. 

With his mouth around her finger like this and his tongue swirling around the digit, Rose shouldn’t be suprised for the heat growing between her legs. The Doctor, sensing her arousal, steps forward to put a paw on her knee as he begins to nibble playfully around her finger. He wants more.  
“No”, she manages to get out.  
He immediately pulls back, eyes full of regret.  
“I’m so sorry”, he tells her, stepping up so both of his front paws are resting on her knee.  
She smiles weakly.

 

They head into town, the Doctor lying comfortably across Rose’s shoulders and his tail swaying back and forth with the simple joy of being alive. Of being here, with her. They come across a few street performers, colorfully scaled humanoids like the rest of the planet’s natives, and they decide to stay and watch for a bit. They play loud, happy music on various instruments which Rose can’t name. The sort of music that forces you to move any part of your body to the quick rhythm, almost as if the music takes control of your body on a subconscious level. As he notices the blonde girl watching them, the group’s singer lights up. He wastes no time in approaching this new audience, circling around her as the song he’s singing suddenly changes lyrics. Rose, however, isn’t impressed at all. Especially since the TARDIS isn’t translating certain words, which means they must be really inappropriate. She can feel the Doctor tense and rise to his paws on her shoulders, his reaction fueled partly by the uncomfortableness and disgust coming from his wife’s side of the bond, and partly by how this alien man seems insistent to keep doing what he’s doing despite her obvious unwillingness and her many attempts to keep a distance between them. And the fact that he knows, unfortunatly, what all those filthy words mean.

“Leave me alone!” Rose lashes out at her unwanted admirer, finally having enough.  
The singer shakes his head with a small grin, like her anger amuses him. He puts his hands on her arm, trying to pull her closer. She’s just about to shove her knee right into his stomach when the Doctor puts an end to it all by letting out a loud, furious (and quite terrifying, if you happen to be on the receiving end) hiss, leaning down to bite warningly in the air, his jaws closing only a millimeter from the attacker's arm.   
“Back off!” he yells, the singer almost losing his balance as he stumbles backwards in horror.

The other performers gathers around their clearly upset friend.  
“T-the cat speaks”, he tells them, his voice reduced to a fearful whisper.  
The Doctor climbs down to curl up in Rose’s arms, offering comfort both mentally and by licking her hands, arms and face. She buries her face in his soft fur, inhaling his scent. He smells just like he used to as a humanoid, she discovers. 

“Excuse me, miss, are you alright?” a concerned, male voice asks from her left.  
Rose turns to her side towards the voice, and is faced with a far friendlier, scale clad face.  
“Sure, thanks. He just got a bit close, but I’m fine. Can take care of myself”, she says.  
He smiles.  
“Of course.”

The Doctor climbs back to his previous spot on her shoulders, now ensured she is safe. He gets into a comfortable position, watching this new male making small talk with his Rose as he makes his jealousy very known through their bond. He lays there like a puma guarding its cub, his gaze locked on the male and prepared to intervene if he should get too close or attempt to try anything funny. 

“That’s quite the remarkable pet you got there”, the alien man, whose introduced himself as Eruvel, asks with an indicating nod at the Doctor.  
Rose smiles, not missing the stab of disgust her husband experiences from being referred to as a “pet”.   
“Yeah, he’s something alright. Not a pet though. More like...”  
She searches for the right word for a moment. It’s not like she’s gonna tell a stranger she’s married to a cat!  
“...my companion”, she decides proudly, the Doctor’s disgust getting replaced by a pleasant suprise at her specific choice of word.

Eruvel smiles, knowingly. Then, just as she’s about to say something else, Rose feels someone grabbing the Doctor from her shoulders. She hears him scream as he’s caught by total suprise, spinning around just to see him being shoved down a sack and his kidnappers already taking off running. 

“DOCTOR!” she screams, and before she can react further something hard and blunt collides with the back of her head.  
She falls to the hard ground, limply.  
“I’m sorry, Rose, but we need the money”, she hears Eruvel’s voice telling her sadly, and she can only watch his feet as he walks away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To all my rearders: i am so, so sorry (not really)


	7. Chapter 7

Rose pushes herself up in sitting position the second the world stops spinning around her, wincing from the pain in her palm. She turns her hand over, staring at the nasty red wound that surely wasn’t there before she fell. She must’ve attempted to catch herself, preventing severe head damage. 

A small crowd has gathered around her, voices asking if she’s alright and if she’s hurt. She groans, pulling her knees in underneath herself. Her hand brushes against something metallic on the ground beside her, and she picks it up to look at it. The Doctor’s sonic! She forgot she had it in her pocket, and it must’ve fallen out. She brings the tool closer to her face, clicking the button as an almost automatic reaction. The faint blue glow of the tip provides her with a strange reassurance. 

“Ma'am? The medic’s on their way”, a woman tells her kindly, and she groans again.  
“I don’t need any medic”, she mutters, slowly standing up.  
The woman who spoke offers to steady her, grabbing her upper arm.   
“You had quite a nasty fall, ma’am”, the woman insists.  
“I don’t need any medic, I have to find my husband!” Rose tells her sharply, knowing very well the TARDIS med bay is more than capable of fixing her up.

 

The walk back to the TARDIS takes a bit longer with her sore knee, which only adds to her growing anxiety since she needs to find the Doctor as quickly as possible. She lets herself into the small cupboard in the hotel’s basement with the sonic, and finds the time ship exactly like they left her not even a day ago. The time ship senses the fact that her Time Lord isn’t there, and the normally low hum of console room changes to a higher, worried pitch. Rose shuts the door behind her, caressing one of the coral pillars soothingly.

“It’s okay, girl, I’m going to find him. But I need your help”, she tells the ship, and the pitch of the hum changes again.

Next she heads into the med bay, leaving the sonic on a metal tray of bandages and scissors before sitting down on a stool with wheels and wheeling over to one of the cabinets. Having lived in this ship for so long so knows where everything is located like the back of her hand, hissing in pain as she coats the wound in her palm in disinfectant. Next she wrappes her hand up in a bandage, a syringe of 81st century pain anodyne appearing on the counter beside her. 

“Thanks, girl”, she tells the ship, the adrenaline rush of her determination to find the Doctor having made her forget how much the wound stings. 

If she’s gonna have any use of the hand she needs to dull the pain, so she braces herself with a sharp intake of breath and presses the needle of the syringe into the skin of her upper arm. Her wounded hand tingles for a short second, and then the pain is completely gone. She exhales in relief, not having realized how much the pain was affecting her until it stopped.

Grabbing the sonic from the tray where she left it, Rose heads back out to the console room. She needs the tool with her in her little mission to save her husband, and she needs somewhere to keep it safe. Somewhere it won’t risk falling out from in the case of running, falling or possibly getting attacked. She spots the Doctor’s clothes, still in the pile on the grating floor. His coat’s on the top, the one with the bigger-on-the-inside pockets. She walks over, lifting it up to examine it. She’s seen him put loads of weird stuff in those pockets, and nothing’s ever fallen out despite all the running and world-saving they’ve been doing. If anything, it’s the ideal place for safekeeping of important tools.

Putting the sonic in one of the pockets, she slips the coat on. It still smells of him, and she makes sure to inhale a good whiff of his lovely scent before going back into focus. The sleeves are too long, and the bottom scrapes across the floor. She sighs. She’ll just have to go with this, there’s no time to work out a plan B. And besides, she might find more things in those pockets that is beneficial to this quest. So she rolls up the sleeves with a quick movement, walking over to the console and getting to work.

 

The hair she found in the coat collar provides a perfect DNA sample for the TARDIS to track and lock onto the Doctor’s location. She purposely parks the ship with a distance from the indicated location, transferring the data from the console to the sonic just like she’s seen the Doctor do. She lingers in the doorway, peering out. She’s in the outskirts of the city they landed it, in what seems to be the slums. There’s a nasty smell from somewhere around her, and now she can fully sense the Doctor’s mind again. He’s really scared.  
“You can do this”, she tells herself sharply, holding the sonic out in front of her like the Doctor does, following the signal.

The sonic signal leads her into a brick building that’s already partly collapsed, a thick, black fabric covering the large holes in the ceiling and walls. The fabric isn’t wind tight, and she pulls the coat closer around her body as a cold breeze hits her. It’s really dark, so she uses the sonic’s blue glow as a torch to search through the building as she holds her breath.

“Rose? Rose!”  
Her breath hitches, her hand pointing the sonic towards the sound of the lovely, wonderful voice. There’s a small metal cage among the stacked wooden boxes, and inside that cage…  
“Doctor!” she cries, hurrying over and sonicing open the lock with a shaking hand.  
He jumps right into her arms, Rose catching him and bringing him close to her chest. She’s crying, suddenly, her tears wetting his fur. The fear his side of the bond previously showed is now replaced by feelings of gratefulness, safety and love. Rose returns the feelings of love from her side, and he soon starts purring.

“You came back”, he whispers, as if in awe, and Rose smiles.  
“Of course I came back!” she exclaims, holding him impossibly closer.  
The Doctor freezes for a second, looking up at her.  
“Are you wearing my coat?” he asks her, slowly.

Rose looks down at his speckled front paws, feeling a blush coming on.  
“Yeah… I needed somewhere to store the sonic, and these pockets are perfect”, she tries to explain.  
He nods, humming.  
“I like it on you. It suits you.”  
“It doesn’t, it’s way too large”, she laughs.  
“I didn't mean in a size-way, in a looks-way. You look good in it. And besides, it’s a good thing it gets used. I’m still very fond of it, and I’d hate it if it just wasted away on the console room floor.”  
“I like it, too. It smells like you”, Rose smiles.  
“Soon it’s gonna smell like you”, he says, burying his nose in the soft, brown fabric and inhaling deeply through it.

Rose giggles softly at his adorable behavior, reaching down the hand not holding the sonic to scratch him between his ears. He purrs, leaning into the touch. Then, the peaceful moment is disturbed by the sound of voices and feet coming their way. The Doctor climbs up to Rose’s shoulders, the blonde rising to her feet and turning around just as three dark figures enters the building. As they get closer, she recognizes one of them as Eruvel. And one of the other two is holding a large knife.

“What the fuck!?” knife guy exclaims, waving the sharp weapon in a threatening motion as he rapidly approaches Rose.  
Rose backs away from him, but he lashes out and grabs her upper arm, causing her to cry out in pain and fear. She drops the sonic to the ground, the alien kicking the metal tube so it rolls away. 

“Strevad, grab the animal”, knife guy growls, and the addressed alien walks over and reaches behind Rose’s head to obey.  
The Doctor, as expected, protests with a hostile hiss, baring of teeth and rise of his hackles. Knife guy responds to this behavior by pulling Rose closer and pressing the knife blade against her cheek, causing her to freeze in fear. His message to the Doctor is obvious: behave, or the girl gets hurt.

The Doctor lets himself be picked up at the threat of his wife’s safety, Strevad grabbing him from under the belly with rough hands and placing him back into the small cage. As the door is closed and the lock is clicked shut he turns around, making brief eye contact with Rose. Her face is filled with fear, and he’s having real trouble reassuring her through the bond with his own severe distress.

“What do we do with this one?” knife guy growls out, giving Rose’s arm a shake.  
“Don’t hurt her! She hasn’t done anything to you!” the Doctor screams from the cage, but his outburst ends up ignored.  
“Let’s just restrain her, she’s not worth the trouble”, Eruvel says, and that’s when Rose realizes he’s just been watching the progression of things from the side.

Knife guy growls in response - he seems to do that a lot -, and Strevad finds some tape somewhere among the stacked boxes. Realizing what’s about to happen, Rose considers putting up a fight but decides against it. The knife is still pressed against her cheek as her wrists are taped together in front of her, and she’d prefer to get out of here alive. If she gets out of here. When the knife is gone from her skin she does dare to wiggle a little in defiance, but that only results in a punch to her stomach. She lands on her side on the ground, the Doctor’s horrified shierk ringing in her ears. She watches him paw and claw at the cage bars in wild panic, listening as the footsteps of their kidnappers gets further and further away.


End file.
